Sustainability on the business agenda: figures and meet-ups

The first version of this piece said a growing share of Hampshire's business events were about sustainability. We hadn't measured that, so we have taken it out. What we can show is the national picture, what the official surveys say businesses are actually doing, and the sustainability events listed in Hampshire now.

The legal backdrop

Since June 2019, the UK has had a legal target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Climate Change Act 2008 (2050 Target Amendment) Order 2019, made on 26 June 2019, changed the 2050 target in the Climate Change Act from an 80% cut to 100%.

Councils in Hampshire set their own ambitions too. Winchester City Council's green economic development strategy notes that the council declared a climate emergency in June 2019 and set an ambition for the district to be carbon neutral by 2030. Other councils have their own targets, and the dates vary.

None of this places a direct duty on most small businesses. It does shape what larger customers, councils and lenders ask of their suppliers, which is where many small firms first meet the subject.

What businesses say they are doing

The ONS asks businesses about climate change in its regular Business Insights and Conditions Survey. Its 2024 summary, published in November 2024, found:

• the share of businesses concerned about the impact of climate change on them fell from about a third (34%) in June 2024 to 28% in late September 2024;
• concern was far more common among large businesses with 250 or more employees (57%);
• around two-thirds (67%) of businesses said they had taken none of the actions listed, such as monitoring climate risks, having a climate change strategy or setting a net zero target;
• the most common of those actions were monitoring climate change risks (5%), having a strategy (3%) and setting a net zero or emissions target (3%), with much higher rates among large firms.

In March 2025, the same survey found nearly three in five businesses (58%) were not concerned about the impact climate change might have on them.

These figures cover Great Britain, not Hampshire alone, and the actions they ask about are formal ones. A business can switch suppliers or cut its energy use without having a strategy document. Still, they show a clear gap between large firms, which mostly have plans, and small ones, which mostly don't. That matters here: at the start of 2026, the Department for Business and Trade estimated that 99.85% of UK private sector businesses were small or medium-sized.

Why the gap reaches small firms

The same ONS summary found that 31% of businesses with 250 or more employees had a climate change strategy, against 3% of businesses overall. A large firm working to a climate strategy may want to count the emissions in what it buys, and that can mean questions for its suppliers: a form in a tender, a request for energy figures, a question at a contract review. For a small supplier, that is often the first time the subject becomes practical rather than general.

That is where local events help. Other owners who have already answered those questions can tell you what was asked, how long it took and what they would do differently. Some useful questions to bring to a meet-up or workshop:

• What did your customers ask for, and in what form?
• Where did you get your figures from?
• What changed your costs, and what didn't?
• Who helped, and was it worth paying for?

Where Hampshire businesses meet about it

The sustainability events in our listings fall into three kinds.

Informal evening meet-ups. People Planet Pint runs pub meet-ups for people and businesses interested in sustainability, as part of a national network. In Hampshire it meets in Southampton, Netley and Brockenhurst. They are donation-optional, with no ticket price, and need no expertise.

Practical workshops. Several organisers run sessions on specific tasks:

• CIOB Wessex and Channel Islands, with IOSH, runs an evening on carbon reporting, disclosure and net zero planning for the built environment.
• Shaping Portsmouth runs a morning on how Portsmouth businesses can prepare for heat, water and infrastructure risks.
• Southampton City Council Business Support runs a short online lunch-and-learn on running a greener small business.

Larger gatherings. The Southern Sustainability Partnership has run an expo in Southampton, and Better Business for Good has held a sustainability awards evening in Basingstoke with People Planet Pint, and Climate Tech Impact South also has an organiser page. Nothing of theirs is listed at the moment; their pages will show the next dates when they are.

The New Forest National Park Authority has also listed events with us, including a walk about green careers.

What this means if you're going to events

• Start informal if you're new to it. A pub meet-up is the easiest way to hear what other small businesses are doing, without committing to anything.
• Go to a workshop when a customer asks. If a larger client or a tender asks about your carbon footprint, a session on carbon reporting will save you time.
• Bring your own numbers. Your energy bills, fuel and travel are where most small firms start. Having them to hand makes a workshop far more useful.
• Treat the surveys as a reason, not a judgement. If two-thirds of businesses have done none of the formal steps, a small one is not behind for starting now.

Find the next one

The current dates are in the listings below. For more, search "sustainability" on the events page, or see talks, after work and business support.